Laughter Yoga comes to Perth as mental health benefits embraced

What is Laughter Yoga?

If you want abs, late-night infomercials tell you to use an ab roller or stand on a weird vibrating wobble board.

Zac Vinten tells you to laugh, hug strangers and dance like your mum.

Mr Vinten’s methodology is part of a new form of a group exercise called Laughter Yoga, which has nothing to do with yoga, and a whole lot to do with laughter.

“Laughter Yoga is based on the belief that fake laughter provides the same physiological and psychological benefits as real laughter,” Mr Vinten said.

“A fake laugh and a fake smile can give the same benefits as if you were actually laughing at the funniest thing or smiling at the happiest thing.

“It’s been proven that laughter boosts the circulation in your body and increases the good chemicals in your body like dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins and serotonin.

“Plus it’s a safe 45-minute ab workout.”

And while the branding might be a bit confusing — I walked into a room of lycra-clad newbies asking each other if they should have brought a yoga mat — Mr Vinten’s teachings and the mental health message he is selling are spot on.

Fake laughter begets real laughter in the world Mr Vinten creates for us as he tells us to hip-and-shoulder strangers, tell stories without words, meditate and maintain strong eye contact — all while laughing.

There are a few missteps when I misunderstand Mr Vinten’s directions before he plays the Macarena, spending the song clapping and spinning around in circles with a blindfold on while the class executes Los Del Rio’s 1995 dance number flawlessly in unison around me.

The missteps are soon redeemed when I am told to dance like my mum, a talent honed on a childhood raised by a mother who still calls radio stations to request the Nutbush.

Laughter Yoga isn’t for everyone, and during Mr Vinten’s class I detect the occasional glint of “please God, make this end” in someone else’s eyes as we locked gaze just above our maniacal laughter. But if you are a horrible person like me, the thought of their discomfort will make you laugh harder, so there is something in it for almost everyone.

And it is difficult to not get swept up in Mr Vinten’s enthusiasm. I could find no other motivation for him to hold these classes other than he simply loves to laugh and wants others to join him.

And when he tells you that most kids laugh 80 to 100 times a day, and adults are lucky to clock 10 times over the same period — you cannot help but love a man taking it upon himself to help close the gap.

“I want to encourage people to come back to this sense of ‘this is your life and you can give yourself the best life ever just by having a laugh every so often’,” he said.

If you are still not sold, you have got to admit it is still less weird than that vibrating wobble board for your abs.